


Midas Pair

by luckycricket33



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: M/M, Magical Realism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-26
Updated: 2016-08-26
Packaged: 2018-08-11 03:41:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7874833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luckycricket33/pseuds/luckycricket33
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everything Oishi touches turns to gold.</p>
<p>When he picks up a tennis ball, it gleams in the light and seems much weightier to Eiji than it did before. When he returns an eraser to Eiji that fell on the floor, that mundane object shines like the most precious metal. When he grips his racket, it gives off a yellow glow like that great celestial cheese wheel, the moon itself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Midas Pair

Everything Oishi touches turns to gold.  
  
When he picks up a tennis ball, it gleams in the light and seems much weightier to Eiji than it did before. When he returns an eraser to Eiji that fell on the floor, that mundane object shines like the most precious metal. When he grips his racket, it gives off a yellow glow like that great celestial cheese wheel, the moon itself.

\---

  
Eiji tries asking Fuji about it one time, because Fuji probably knows everything, even the things that Inui is still trying to figure out. Better then to cut out the middleman.  
  
"Fuji," says Eiji, "Why is it that when Oishi touches a thing, it turns gold?" No sense beating around the bush on this one.  
  
"Hmm? Eiji, I'm not really sure what you're talking about," says Fuji with an innocent smile and a head tilt.  
  
Eiji pouts and recognizes when he is being shut down, sullenly returning to shoveling his omelette back in his mouth.  
  
"Maybe," Fuji adds, smiling off into the distance at some incomprehensible thing, "it only looks that way to you."

\---

  
Oishi acts pretty normal about all the golden things he touches, but Eiji supposes this must be natural to him by now. If nobody else could see it, maybe Oishi himself held the answers.  
  
"Oishi," Eiji says after practice one day, "your racket is gold. Did you notice that your racket is gold?"  
  
Oishi smiles at him. "So it is, Eiji." Eiji's heart leaps, this is it, this is it, he was finally going to get his explanation- "Everything looks gold in this light. It's just an ordinary sunset, but you're so poetic."  
  
Eiji stares at Oishi with the disappointment of a puppy watching the last piece of bacon disappear between the lips of its owner.  
  
"That's not it at all," he cries, grabbing Oishi by one sleeve and dragging him. "Come inside the club room with me. Don't blame this on the lighting. I can see it, too, you know."  
  
"See what," asks Oishi breathlessly, as Eiji shuts the door.  
  
"How the stuff you touch turns gold. No one else can see it, I've asked already, but I can so you don't have to hide it from me, just tell me about it," Eiji babbles.  
  
"Eiji, I... I really don't know what you're talking about," says Oishi. "The stuff I touch looks ordinary to me, same as the stuff I don't touch. I'm sorry."  
  
Eiji looks down sadly. "Honest?"  
  
"Yeah, that's... it's really weird, Eiji, but I wouldn't lie to you about it, all the same."  
  
"And... just to be sure, you don't notice anything weird about me, do you?"  
  
Oishi shifts uncomfortably. "Well this is a weird way to a... I, um... hrm... n... nothing supernatural, Eiji. Was this really all you called me in here for?"  
  
Eiji tilts his head to one side. "Oishi... is there something non-supernaturally unusual about me you can see?"  
  
Oishi explains, backed up against the club room door, hands tightening around his gleaming racket, wringing around its handle. Eiji replies to him with a smile that could melt down gold.

\---

  
The next day, Eiji can feel people staring at his back. Tezuka glances over and goes back to work, while Kaidou keeps goggling but says nothing. Momo asks if Eiji's all right.  
  
"Yeah, I feel great. What's up with everybody today?" Eiji says.  
  
"Senpai it looks like... you got into a fight with a spray-painted man," says Momoshiro. "Do we need to go find him and beat the guy up? Or did you kick his ass yourself?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Eiji, here, turn around for a second," says Fuji. "Have you seen the back of your jersey? It's covered in golden handprints."

**Author's Note:**

> edited very slightly from the original BR 5 fill; i toned it down but you can see what i almost wrote over [here](http://sportsanime.dreamwidth.org/16113.html?thread=7469297#cmt7469297)


End file.
